Congratulations on your new clarinet
purchase! Learning a musical instrument is something that I think
everyone should pursue, as it opens up the mind to many, many different
opportunities! First I would like you to just take out your instrument
and put it together. If you are not sure how to, then follow these
next few steps:
Putting Together your Clarinet:
Step 1: For now just
get acquainted with your new instrument. Look at the pieces and
take note at how fragile it is. Your instrument is either made out
of plastic or wood, and if it is made out of wood I would like you
to read the section about wooden clarinets at the end of this tutorial.
Study the different parts of the
clarinet and learn the names. For now you can just use this picture
as a reference:
Step 2: Find the Upper
Joint and the Lower Joint of your clarinet. Hold down
the three finger buttons in the Upper Joint as shown in the picture.
If you will watch the buttons while you press them down, you will
notice a small Bridge Key on the bottom portion or the Upper
Joint. This allows the Upper Joint to be connected to the Lower
Joint safely and securely. While depressing the keys on the
Upper Joint as shown in the picture, gently twist the two
pieces together.
Step 3: Now search for
your Barrel and your Mouthpiece. Twist the two together
in the same way that you did the Upper and Lower Joints.
Now take these two connected pieces and connect them to the top
of your Upper Joint.
Step 4:
Find the Bell. The only place left to put it is on the piece
of cork at the end of the Bottom Joint, so gently twist the
Bell on.
Step 5:
Take the reed and soak it in your mouth a few moments. Be careful
not to rub your tongue against the tip, because if you damage the
tip, the sound you make will not be as pretty as it could be. After
soaking the reed for about a minute or two, place it flat side down
on the open part of the mouthpiece and slide the ligature on (The
thing that holds the reed on). Adjust the reed to that when you
look straight at it, you can only see a thin sliver of the mouthpiece.
When your mouthpiece looks like this you can go ahead and tighten
the ligature screws until they are barely tight. Over tightening
will bend the ligature and your sound can also suffer from this.
Good! You're all done! I hope
you can enjoy the appearance of your new instrument, as the clarinet
is one of the most beautiful instruments.
Before you Play:
Before you begin, I would like you
to pay attention to a few things. Make sure you are sitting with
your feet comfortably touching the floor and with a straight back.
You should feel that your throat is open and that you can breath
comfortably. This is the posture that you should always sit in when
you are playing the clarinet, or any musical instrument.
Your First Sounds:
Step 1: Take a piece
of paper and slide it in between your reed and your mouthpiece.
When you feel the slightest bit of resistance, stop. This is where
your lips will fall on the mouthpiece. Remember that spot.
Step 2: Curl your bottom
lip over your bottom teeth. Place the Reed on top of your lip and
gently bite down on the top with your bare teeth. Your lips should
be resting on the mouthpiece about where the paper stopped, and
they should be firmly surrounding the mouthpiece with no gaps left
for air.
Step 3: Keep your tongue
in the bottom of your mouth, not constricting your airflow, and
not touching the reed either. Strike it lightly against the upper
part of your reed a few times. Breathe through the instrument and
strike the reed a few times to interrupt the airflow. Remember how
this feels because it is a very big part of the music making process.
Step 4: All right! This
is the big one! Take a deep breath and try to think about filling
up your stomach and not your chest. Gently force the air through
your mouthpiece until you hear a sound. The vibration of the reed
causes this sound. It is very important that the only time this
vibration is interrupted is when you are flicking the tip of the
reed with your tongue. This is called tonguing and is used to create
rhythms and different note lengths.
Congratulations!
You have just made your first sounds
on your clarinet! Now, and just for now, test out what kind of sounds
your clarinet can make! See what happens when you bite too hard,
or too softly on the mouthpiece. Try using too much air or too little
and note how the tone will change. Test out all of the keys and
see if you can't work out any tunes by yourself. Most of all,
just practice playing long notes on your clarinet, trying to hold
a note for as long as possible! The clarinet is an easy instrument
to learn, but much practice is needed before you can truly master
it! Don't get frustrated! Diligence is key!
A great way to get better is to listen
to professional and non-professional players so that you can see
how the instrument is supposed to sound. It really does have a beautiful
sound.
In my next guide, I will start to
teach you the basic notes on a music staff, and when you are finished
with that, you will be able to play a B flat Major Scale! Thanks
for reading! I hope you enjoy your new clarinet!
*Wooden Clarinets: All
I have to say about wooden clarinets is that they should be cared
for greatly. The sound is far better than that of plastic, but if
you do not swab out the insides after every use, it could become
cracked from the moisture absorbance. Just make sure to follow the
instructions that I am sure came with your clarinet.
thanks